Ancient tooth provides evidence of prehistoric dentistry

A recent study on an old tooth shed some new light on the history of human hygiene.

Scientists say that a 14,000-year-old infected molar revealed the practice of dentistry is thousands of years older than previously thought.

The tooth is part of a preserved skeleton of a 25-year-old man found in Northern Italy in 1988. Scientists determined he lived about 14,000 years ago — during the Upper Paleolithic Age or the late Stone Age.

According to recent analysis, the ancient tooth showed signs of having been cleaned with flint tools. The findings suggest that someone tried to dig out the rotten part of the tooth with stone.

So yes, even cavemen had cavities — and they also went through painful procedures to get rid of them.